Here is the second part of the text (the first part is here), in which I discuss my approach to mobile phones, the internet and social media. Once again, this is an extract from a chapter in my book Tato kniha není (z)boží (This Book Is Not a Commodity)
ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT LEAVING UNNECESSARY TRACES
I used to have my own internet connection, but I don’t any more. Financially, I could afford one, but I don’t want to. I have security reasons for this. When the police and corporations know where you usually connect to the internet from, they have plenty of opportunities and information about what you’re doing online. I connect via an old computer to publicly available Wi-Fi networks that do not require registration. I don’t go to just one place regularly, and I usually use the TOR anonymisation network, which ensures that the IP address I use to access the internet cannot be traced by third parties. My email accounts are set up on the “riseup.net” server, which does not collect sensitive data and refuses to cooperate with the police. This is also confirmed by the author of the blog “borodin.noblogs.org”. He wrote:
“Since 2014, the police have been investigating who sent the communiqué from the Network of Revolutionary Cells. In one of their official records, they state: ‘Emails from the riseup.net server were used to send the communiqué.’ The server and email services are intended primarily for activists from the anarchist, anti-authoritarian, anti-fascist and radical environmentalist movements. It is known for the emphasis it places on user anonymity, particularly in that no data is archived – notably browsing history and mailbox contents – there are no restrictions on the use of various anonymisation tools, such as TOR servers, and, at the same time, the email header is modified by the server after sending so that it displays the sender’s IP address as ‘localhost’, thereby preventing the sender’s identification. (…) This is how police investigators Václav Bartoš and Martin Janků describe “riseup.net”. Essentially, they are repeating in their own words what the administrators of “riseup.net” state online. Furthermore, they confirm that they are unable to obtain what they would like through their investigation. Their helplessness is also confirmed by other police officers, such as Chief Inspectors Jaroslav Renda and Milan Kavka. Let us quote here an extract from their official records: The operator of “riseup.net” provides email services, chat services, and data-sharing and data-storage services. The purpose of the services provided on this server is to ensure anonymity, i.e. the complete untraceability of the individuals behind the individual means of communication. In view of all the above facts, it can be stated that communications taking place via the “riseup.net” system are completely inaccessible to law enforcement authorities. No information can be obtained from the aforementioned operator through international police cooperation or through mutual legal assistance under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The very purpose for which the means of communication in question was created precludes the acquisition of any information.”
My experience with ‘riseup.net’ has been thoroughly positive, and not just in light of what Borodin said. However, I don’t just use the internet for email communication. If I want to permanently publish a text or graphic online, I mainly use the free service provided by “noblogs.org”, which offers similar security guarantees to “riseup.net”. Using “TAILS” is also very practical. It can be installed from the website https://tails.boum.org
Today, TAILS is used, amongst others, by a number of journalists who need to cover their tracks following their anti-regime or anti-state activities. But it is a system for anyone who requires the greatest possible security.
TAILS, or “The (Amnesic) Incognito Live System”, is a system designed to protect your privacy and anonymity. It helps you use the internet anonymously, bypasses censorship almost anywhere, and leaves no trace on any computer. It is a complete operating system designed to be run from a USB stick or DVD, independently of the computer’s original operating system. TAILS is used as a ‘Live CD’, which means you can boot it from a CD or USB flash drive, and when you shut down the computer, the data relating to your activity is deleted. It is not stored in any memory. TAILS simply forgets it, and it cannot be recovered.
There are also a number of platforms and apps that enable encrypted communication. As a rule, this requires a bit more effort than the forms of communication we normally use. However, this investment of time is well worth it. Several cases that the police opened whilst attempting to prosecute anarchists have repeatedly demonstrated just how helpless they are when it comes to these tools.
In contrast, using services such as ‘seznam.cz’, ‘gmail.com’ and so on can backfire on you. I would like to quote again from the blog “borodin.noblogs.org”, which states:
“In April 2015, Martin Janků of the Organised Crime Investigation Unit (ÚOOZ) drew up an official report in which several worrying details can be found. Specifically, for example, the following: On the basis of duly carried out proceedings pursuant to Section 158d(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the District Court in Most, on 25 July 2014 (V28/2014), obtained the contents of the email account first name.surname@seznam.cz, the user of which is – first name and surname … (…) This section of the official record acknowledges that it is sufficient for the police to present to the court even a speculative suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed in order for a warrant to be issued to obtain the contents of an email account on the seznam.cz server. The service provider will then willingly hand over the contents of the account to the police even without the user’s consent or knowledge. On 18 August 2015, Martin Janků assessed the contents of the aforementioned account in a further official record. It does not suggest that the user was using the account for criminal activity. It was used solely for ordinary communication with his father, friends, an editor at aktualne.cz and an editor at denikreferendum.cz. In principle, however, it should not really matter to us what the mailbox is used for. It is a private matter for the user, into which there should be no interference. An electronic communications provider that allows the police to intrude on users’ privacy is just as reprehensible as police informants, agents and snitches. I therefore recommend that everyone turn their backs on the seznam.cz server and instead use the services of the riseup.net platform, which guarantees secure and anonymous communication that is inaccessible to the police.”
When I explain to people how I connect to the internet, a common reaction is that it’s too time-consuming, complicated and inefficient. In some respects, that may well be true, but from the point of view of security and privacy, it is highly effective. And it has another advantage. If you don’t have the internet at your fingertips, you can’t spend so much time on it and fall prey to severe cyber-addiction, the consequences of which have been much discussed recently.
“Possibilities for authentic relations between humans and with our surroundings are increasingly erased in service of a virtual hyper- connectivity. Understanding, discovery, and the search for meaning are reduced to production of data. Attention deficit, memory problems, loss of emotional skills and imagination, disrupted sleep, musculo-skeletal pain, anxiety, loneliness, depression: the symptoms of addiction to online technologies are worsening as the proportion of the population that has spent their entire lives immersed in touch screens grows.”
- Poster: Fire to the Cybernetic Prison
https://mtlcounterinfo.org/poster-fire-to-the-cybernetic-prison/
Burn Your Phone – Part one
Burn Your Phone – Part Three